Wildlife photographer's work will be on display in San Marco

Yet Ross Jeffries has lain in wait for grizzly bears in Alaska, lions in Africa and polar bears in the Arctic.

You see, he photographs wildlife, a challenging career that requires a lot of patience and has taken the 42-year-old Mandarin resident around the world. Much like a hunter, he rises early in the morning, hidden in camouflage, waiting hours and hours for his subjects to venture forth.

"It's a matter of getting the right subject with the right background and the right lighting to come together," Jeffries said.

Such as a giraffe silhouetted against the red glow of an African sunset or polar bears giving each other a mouth-to-mouth greeting on the tundra.

His work can be seen from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today and Sunday at the annual San Marco Art Festival along San Marco Boulevard. Jeffries, a show veteran, is among 150 artists from across the country who will be exhibiting, with prices ranging from $20 to $20,000, organizers said.

Jeffries, who grew up on a cattle ranch in Central Florida, started photographing wildlife at age 12 when his parents gave him a Canon. He chose white tail deer, wild turkeys, raccoons and foxes as subjects rather than the cows, which "just stand there and look at you."

Though he graduated from Flagler College in St. Augustine with a business degree, he took photography courses and learned dark-room techniques. He still shoots with a Canon and prefers film because of its "raw naturalness."

Other than a few odd jobs after school, he's been doing it professionally for about 20 years. Although the economy has slowed business in the past year, he hasn't had to turn to the more financially rewarding wedding or portrait business, said Jeffries, whose work sells at art shows and galleries at prices ranging from $25 to $400.

Jeffries makes two to three photographic trips a year, for periods of two to eight weeks. Most of his work is done in state and national parks and from the safety of a vehicle. He does not do zoo photography.

Though polar bears are the most aggressive toward humans, Jeffries said, he's photographed them from tundra buggies and snowmobiles.

"I've never had a negative experience with an animal, although several have come closer to me than I wanted them to because of their curiosity," he said.

Once a grizzly passed within a few feet of him on the trail, but fortunately, it had been feeding on salmon at the Brooks River in Alaska and had a full belly, he said.

In Africa, he's photographed elephants, rhinos, lions, cheetahs and other big cats, lying down in the vehicle and aiming through the windows or top of the sunroof. The animals are so used to seeing vehicles in the national parks that they no longer pay attention, Jeffries said.

In the United States, Jeffries usually sits inside a camouflage stand and uses cover scent to mask his odor. Normally, he uses a camouflage tent but often will shoot from a camouflage tree stand.

Though brought up in a hunting family and possessing the skills himself, Jeffries prefers to shoot with a camera rather than a rifle.

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